1. Field Of The Invention
The invention pertains to load transporting vehicles and, more particularly, to a dolly for transporting loads in closely confined areas.
2. Description Of The Prior Art Wheeled vehicles, or dollies, for transporting loads generally include an upright frame having wheels thereon, and a base carried on the frame for receiving a load to be supported on the base and against the frame when the frame is manually pivoted or tilted by an operator via grasping handles on the frame and pushed along the ground via the wheels. Most dollies are utilized by positioning the base beneath a load and pivoting the frame around the wheels to tilt the base and, therefore, the load, to support the load against the frame. Because the base is commonly cantilevered from the frame in spaced relation with the ground, the base must be very large to sustain the weight of heavy loads placed thereon. Even when the base is supported on the ground, the base must still be very large when transporting relatively heavy loads to allow the base to tilt with the frame without structural damage and detachment of the base from the frame. Additionally, it is frequently difficult to position the base beneath a load, particularly when the base is large and/or elevated above the ground, and the load must be lifted manually and placed upon the base, or tilted to permit the base to be placed under the load. When the load is very heavy, lifting of the load can cause physical injury to the operator, may necessitate extraneous lifting equipment and detracts substantially from the functional utility of the dolly.
A further disadvantage of conventional dollies when transporting heavy loads is that it is extremely difficult to stabilize such loads as part of the weight of the load is transferred to the frame when the dolly is tilted from the upright position to an inclined position by handles on the frame. The dollies commonly over-rotate during tilting, and an operator can easily lose his grasp on the handles resulting in the dolly and the load falling to the ground. Therefore, it is typically necessary for an assistant to hold and stabilize the load while an operator rotates the dolly, and both the operator and the assistant are at risk of physical injury should the load become unstable. Once the dolly has been rotated and the load is supported on the frame in an inclined position, it may be desirable to maintain the load in such position for improved access to certain parts of the load. Requiring a operator to hold the dolly at length in a tilted position is at best inefficient and tedious, diverting the operator from other tasks, and may be physically impossible for heavy loads. However, most dollies fail to permit the frame to be supported in a selective inclined position without reliance on an operator to hold the frame.
Another drawback to presently available dollies is that such dollies are usually unsuitable for transporting relatively large loads. Large loads generally require a large base to stabilize the loads; however, even when the base is big, large loads tend to destabilize when the dolly is rotated. The rotational force applied by an operator to rotate the dolly must be equal across a large load, otherwise the load can tip laterally and fall off the dolly, potentially injuring an operator and/or damaging the load. It is difficult for an operator to precisely control the rotational force applied via the handles, and frequently one side of the load receives more rotational force than the other side of the load causing the load to topple. An assistant is usually necessary when transporting large loads to manually maintain proper positioning of the load upon the base when the dolly is rotated by an operator, and positioning forces applied to the load by an assistant can produce additional instability when the load is tilted on a dolly.
The deficiencies associated with presently available dollies are even further pronounced when transporting loads in closely confined areas. Frequently, loads to be transported are situated such that multiple sides, or faces, of the load are enclosed by walls of a room, a storage cubicle, a closet and the like prohibiting access to all but one side or face of the load. When transporting such loads with conventional dollies, it is extremely difficult to position the loads upon the base of the dolly and to stabilize the loads during rotation of the dolly because the inaccessible sides of the load cannot be grasped by an assistant to lift the load for placement on the base and to control the load during rotation. If the walls are very close to the load, efforts by one or more assistants to move the load onto a dolly and to position the load thereon can result in crushing of the assistants' hands and fingers between the load and the walls. It is usually necessary, therefore, that such loads be removed from the confined areas prior to transport on a dolly and, when the loads are relatively heavy and/or large, movement of the loads can require intensive labor and specialized lifting equipment, result in physical injury to the movers as well as damage to the load, and generally detracts from the efficacy of the dolly.
Illustrative of loads in closely confined areas are certain washer and dryer units and, in particular, washer and dryer units disposed in a vertically stacked arrangement in a closet having walls closely surrounding the washer/dryer unit. Such washer/dryer units have become popular for use in apartments, townhouses and other buildings where space is a premium because the stacked units can be accommodated in a relatively narrow width closet. The units are typically required by building codes to be positioned in a drip pan on the bottom or floor of the closet, and the drip pans typically include an upstanding peripheral side wall three to four inches high within which the washer/dryer unit is positioned. Plumbing connections to the washer/dryer units are made through the closet floor via the bottom of the drip pans and only the front face of the washer/dryer units can be readily accessed by opening a door on the closet. When the washer/dryer units require repair or maintenance, service personnel must obtain access to the back and/or the bottom face of the stacked units and this is an extremely cumbersome and difficult procedure. The accepted practice is to manually lift the washer/dryer units above the side wall of the drip pan and remove the units from the closet. Although the actual repair work usually requires only a single service man, additional service personnel must be sent to the job site to perform this lifting. Lifting the washer/dryer units is a precarious and dangerous task due to the units being very heavy and tall, and job related injuries are very common. Moreover, the walls of the closet are usually spaced only slightly from the side faces of the washer/dryer units, and the fingers and hands of service personnel are frequently caught and/or crushed between the washer/dryer unit and the closet walls. Additionally, the side wall of the drip pans and plumbing connections are commonly damaged when lifting and moving stacked washer/dryer units, and damage to the closet and adjacent walls and objects is also a frequent occurrence. Once stacked washer/dryer units have been removed from a closet, the units must then be positioned to allow service personnel to perform the necessary repair and/or maintenance. Positioning the units is also extremely difficult because the units may have to be tilted or laid on the floor to gain access to certain components. Upon completion of the repair and/or maintenance, the washer/dryer units must be restored to an upright position and returned to the closet, and the aforementioned difficulties are repeated. Presently available dollies are unsuitable for transporting stacked washer/dryer units in a closet because the upstanding side wall on the drip pans prevents the base on the dollies from being positioned beneath the washer/dryer units. Moreover, the walls of the closet being very close to the side faces of the washer/dryer units prevents service personnel from lifting the units onto a dolly and from stabilizing the units when rotated on a dolly. Conventional dollies also lack supports for supporting stacked washer/dryer units in a selected inclined position to permit repair and/or maintenance thereon once the units have been removed from a closet.